| TECHNOLOGY |
The drug substance is milled into small particles less than 400 nm in diameter. The smaller particles increase the surface area of the drug and improve the dissolution of the drug in the body. The particles are in suspension & Co uses a proprietary stabilizer to prevent the aggregation of the small particles, Sternson says.
Most of the applications of the technology require that the water be removed from the suspension to form a free-flowing powder, Sternson says. "That powder has to be stable. It has to be so stable in fact that you can subject it to the tremendous force involved in compression to make a tablet," he says Co has successfully prepared capsules and tablets with
Although Co developed technology with water-insoluble small molecules in mind, it has also recently been shown to work with poorly water-soluble macromolecules, Sternson says. "We have successfully made nanoparticles of insulin and done so with a retention of the biological behavior of insulin. If you made a common subcutaneous suspension of insulin and compared it with a subcutaneously administered you would see that it fully retains its ability to lower blood glucose," Sternson claims Co has miniaturized the technology. "One of the real problems that has always prevented drug delivery from being used at early stages is that oftentimes the drug delivery scientist requires large quantities of material to apply the drug delivery technology," Sternson explains. "We can develop prototype formulations for discovery groups where we require on the order of 25 or 35 mg of materials. It's been miniaturized to accommodate the desire to use the technology at the drug discovery stage."
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